As many of you are aware, I practice my healthcare tools in two cities. While my home office is located inside the Creative Care & Wellness Center in Milwaukee, I have an equally large and lovely pod of patients in New York City. Consequently, I travel between both and consider each location home to me in different ways.
During a recent appointment with one of the mothers in my NYC practice, I was asked which city I loved more. In my answer I confessed that choosing between them was impossible because I love both for different reasons. (I’m sure the fact that I’m a Gemini contributes to this duality!)
Nonetheless, the question got me wondering about the larger context of the city lives I have chosen and the fact that I live in and prefer old cities and seasoned architecture. Why do I choose to live in an old Victorian home? Why do I feel emotionally safer in the context of old buildings? Why do I gravitate towards cobble stone streets? Why do I feel empty and ungrounded in new construction? Why am I willing to nurture the needs of my old home instead of choosing an easier-to-maintain modern dwelling?
The answers to these questions lie in the fact that in these older contexts I see history and strength. These aged buildings have withstood the test of time. They have persevered. They have demonstrated longevity. They possess stability. They have deeper roots. They are made of quality materials. They have enjoyed the commitment of long-term relationship. They are willing to go the distance.
In admiring the characteristics of landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Flatiron Building, Olmstead’s Central Park and Lake Park designs, and even the cobblestone pavers of my Milwaukee East Side alley, I am reminded of the quiet power of history. I then follow a train of thought to the beauty of and my attraction to strong foundational nutrition – that which is found in the historically preserved tenets of traditional naturopathy. These principles of wellness have been studied and researched by Weston A. Price and carried forward in time through the foundation with the same name.
I am drawn to the principles of traditional nutrition because I feel emotionally healthy and physically stable when nourished with quality macro- and micronutrients. These are the same qualities that draw me to each of these beautiful cities – the strength and beauty of strong foundations seasoned with time. Quality food has also withstood the test of time and provides the nutrients necessary for us to do the same. My free wellness guide entitled Food for Thought at www.creativecarewellness.com provides dietary tips I consider to be the Big Apple of nutrition. These tips are the historical dietary landmarks of a strong body able to withstand the test of time.
But Milwaukee and NYC each have new construction that I find equally 
beautiful and tremendously necessary. Each of these beautiful old cities is peppered with new advances that make life easier and even more beautiful. I appreciate and am grateful for the new developments and modern conveniences of the shiny new. But I remind myself that while I love accessorizing with the new, all new is built upon old. Something came before the new. Lessons were learned from the old that prompted development of the new. And while not all “old” is good, neither is all “new”. I should not choose old just because it is old anymore than I should choose new just because it is new. But while I need a strong and simple history-proven foundation, sometimes I also need a cutting edge vitamin or supplement to fill in the gaps.
So as I awaited my “new” plane transportation departure to move between my two favorite cities, I pondered these thoughts while people-watching my fellow travelers. I realized that the queue leading to the airport’s Dunkin Donuts had not contained less than 20+ people since I began counting. Before arriving at the airport I enjoyed a breakfast rooted in foundational nutrition: organic and pasture-raised foods that contained probiotics, raw enzymes, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, complete with antioxidants. All were “old” foods that nourish my body and spirit. I wondered how those in the Dunkin Donuts line would feel after consuming the high-sugar, GMO-containing grains and their pesticide riddled, hormone-injected and artificially sweetened beverages. “New” foods that I believe are poisonous to mind, body and spirit. But I also enjoyed an antioxidant-rich phytonutrient drink, a “new” food chosen to supplement the extra needs of travel. I felt I needed a “new” food that beautifully accessorized my “old” foundational dietary regime that morning. Not unlike the new bathroom fixtures and tile that have updated the old powder room of my cozy Victorian home.
